The Flowers of War (2011)

Original title

金陵十三釵

Directed by

Zhang Yimou

Genre

romance film, historical film, war drama

Country

People's Republic of China

Runtime

2h 26m

Rated

R

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 911 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In 1937 Nanjing, during the Japanese invasion, a group of schoolgirls and a mysterious American mortician take refuge in a church. They are joined by a group of women from a brothel, and together they struggle to survive the horrors of the siege. The story focuses on the sacrifices and courage that emerge from this desperate situation.

tensebleaksorrowfulslow-burnvisually lushgrittysomberresilient

What happens

The Flowers of War (Chinese: 金陵十三钗, Pinyin: Jīnlíng Shísān Chāi ) is a 2011 historical drama war film directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Zhang Xinyi, Tong Dawei, Atsuro Watabe, Shigeo Kobayashi and Cao Kefan. A Chinese-Hong Kong co-production, the film is based on a novella by Geling Yan, 13 Flowers of Nanjing, inspired by the diary of Minnie Vautrin. The story is set in Nanjing, China, during the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in the Second Sino-Japanese War. A group of escapees, finding sanctuary in a church compound, try to survive the Japanese atrocities. It was selected as the Chinese entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards, but did not make the final shortlist. It also received a nomination for the 69th Golden Globe Awards. The 6th Asian Film Awards presented The Flowers of War with several individual nominations, including Best Film. The film's North American distribution rights were acquired by Wrekin Hill Entertainment, in association with Row 1 Productions, leading to an Oscar-qualifying limited release in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco in late December 2011, with general release in January 2012. The Flowers of War received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing only $98 million against a $94 million budget. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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